Invitations
by Dyeh
Summary: It's Tetsu's 16th Birthday, and when Okita finds out, he becomes determined to throw Tetsu the biggest party that the Shinsengumi has ever seen! Complete summary inside. R&R. [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary:  
**It's Tetsunosuke's 16th Birthday, and when Okita finds out from Tatsunosuke - he's determined to make it the biggest birthday party the Shinsengumi has ever seen! The only problem is that the people he invites has to each go out and get their own presents for Tetsu... without the puppy noticing! To add to that dilemma, Tetsunosuke is as down as ever, and only wants somebody to talk too...

* * *

Well, this is my first Peacemaker fanfiction! It's kind of a set of One Shots... kind of... except the one shots follow a storyline... but, anyways, I wrote this because I'm bored, and I'm likely to continue to write it, even if you don't like it! Gasp oO;  
Anyways, I hope you like my collection of Peacemaker One-shot-like-things. Please Read and Review nn

**Disclaimer: I don't own Peacemaker. What a shame.**

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**Chapter One  
Organising**

"Damn…" Tetsunosuke muttered, throwing the soiled rag in the air much like a girl would her teddy-bear. "Damn…"

As per usual, Tetsu was getting punished for trying to run off and train without Hijikata's permission. But, worst of all, nobody had remembered. Not _one person_, which included his older brother, Tatsu. No, nobody had remembered his 16th Birthday.

"Tatsu-nii's probably too busy with all those stupid books…" He rolled over onto his side, willing himself not to rip the cloth in half with irritation. "And I'm pretty sure I told people when it was… Hijikata-san should at least know… and here I am doing… cleaning… on… my…" Tetsu rolled up into a sitting position, and this time he really did rip the cloth in two. "DAMN THAT FREAKING DEMON VICE COMMANDER!"

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Tatsunosuke-kun, what on earth are you doing?"

Tatsu turned, twitching as he was faced with Souji Okita, who was looking very curious. No wonder why, sprawled in front of Tatsu was not mountains of books, but rather a mountain of big and small badly wrapped (half of which weren't – the wrapping paper was still sprawled behind his left leg) presents.

"You seem to be having trouble. Need some help?"

Tatsu twitched. Lately, Souji had been pointing out the plainly obvious facts. "Ah… Okita-san… What a pleasant surprise."

Okita lowered himself to a sitting position. "So, what are you doing exactly?"

"Well… uh… you see, it's Tetsunosuke's 16th Birthday today and… I kind of wanted to keep it quiet so uh…"

Okita blinked. Why on earth had Tatsu wanted to keep Tetsu-kun's 16th Birthday quiet? Oh well, he really didn't care. It gave him a great opportunity to bounce around Hijikata, and something to look forward too.

"That simply won't do, Tatsunosuke-kun!" Souji said, crossing his arms over his chest in a disapproving manner. "Tetsu-kun should have a big Birthday party with lots of cake and presents! Oh I simply must tell everybody about it!" Souji wasted no time. He leapt up, and skipped away in a happy-go-lucky manner to tell as many people as he could _and _to plan Tetsunosuke a surprise party.

"That…" Tatsu muttered, gripping his head in his hands, "Is exactly what I was afraid of."

* * *

"HIJIKATA-SAN!" Okita burst into the mans room, Hijikata of which turned in his normally not-interested manner. "Hijikata-san, guess what!"

"… Do I even want to know, Souji?"

Lately, Souji had been bursting into Toshi's room about anything and everything. There was even one occasion where he burst in telling Hijikata all about a pretty black cat (or Kitty, as he called it) that was walking over the fence, and asked if he could keep it. Toshi had replied with; "I'm not your Father." But, he'd forbidden to let Souji keep the cat anyway.

"It's Tetsu-kun's birthday!"

Hijikata's interest rose about one centimetre up the scale. He finally realised why Tetsu had been abnormally obnoxious towards him that morning – he figured that he was pissed off because his Birthday had been forgotten. Not that he even _told _Hijikata when his Birthday was.

"So you have to get him a present, 'kay?" Souji stated, pouting in his direction. "He is _your _page after all."

"Yes, yes, okay, okay. I'll get the puppy a present."

"YIPPEE!" Souji announced, clapping his hands together, and left without another word. Unfortunately for Hijikata, Souji double tracked and poked his head back inside the door. "Tell Yamazaki-kun for me?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

* * *

"Ah! Yamanami-san!"

Sannan turned to look in Souji's direction. He had been sitting on the veranda of one of the Shinsengumi buildings, and he was rather surprised to see Souji there – Souji preferred Toshi to himself. "What is it, Souji?"

"You'll never guess!" Souji erupted, rather louder than usual.

"If I'll never guess, then tell me." It was rather surprising – Toshi put up with Souji's idiotic childish personality a lot better than Sannan did, and he was getting to the end of his ropes. Souji pouted. He'd wanted the older man to guess.

"Well, it's Tetsu-kun's Birthday!"

"Is it now?" Sannan asked, intrigued. "Planning a party are you?"

"Yes! So you have to get him a present, 'kay?"

"Of course. I'll have to go and get Saya and Akesato as well."

"… Are you s- Nevermind, I don't want to know." Souji stated, bouncing around to tell yet three more unfortunate people.

* * *

"Damn you, Sanosuke! You asked me to spar _again_ and you make smart-ass comments, _again_!"

Shinpachi was pissed off. The entire morning he'd been sparring with Harada, and with a spear no less. Shinpachi didn't even know the correct way to hold a spear, yet alone use one, so he was faring quite badly against the 10th unit captain. Toudou was laughing on the sidelines.

"Hey, Shinpachi, at least it's you and not me!"

"You want a go?" Shinpachi asked sarcastically, flinging the practise spear in Heisuke's direction, narrowly missing his head. "Go ahead."

"Ano…"

"Hey! Shinpachi! That's unfair! Take it back! Take it back!"

"Ano…"

"You're my victim now, Heisuke!" Sanosuke sneered in a mock fashion, and began advancing on the man. "Prepare to di-"

"ANO!"

"Hrm?" All three turned their gaze towards Souji, who was leaning inside the door. "What is it?"

"Well… is this really time to be practising?"

"What are you on about?"

Souji now had his hands on hips, and was glaring in their direction. "You should be getting Tetsu-kun some presents!"

"Why does Puppy Boy need presents?" Shinpachi asked, stretching. "Unless…"

"That's right." Souji said triumphantly, they were finally getting the picture.

"You mean… PUPPY BOYS GETTING MARRIED?"

"WOAH!" Sanosuke and Heisuke said in unison. "He really doesn't waste time, does he?"

"No!" Souji pouted, "It's Tetsu-kun's Birthday!"

"Ahhhhh. I guess we'd better get him presents then."

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Hijikata-san?" Susumu stated. He was kneeling at the doorway to Toshi's room, and he was looking rather professional at that.

"You're taking the day off."

"Excuse… me… sir?" Susumu muttered, he could hardly believe his ears.

"Unfortuantely, we have more pressing matters today."

"Like what?"

"Like Tetsunosuke's Birthday."

It was quite funny that no matter what Hijikata said, it always sounded like he was conducting business, and Tetsunosuke's Birthday was just a different kind of business, really. "So I expect you to get him a present."

"Yes sir."

"That is all, you can go now."

"Yes sir."

Susumu made sure to nail the door tight behind him – the Vice commander had gone insane.

* * *

"Okita-san!"

Okita stood as still as stone. He'd been sneaking past the dojo that Tetsu was cleaning, and he didn't want to get caught. "What're you doing, Okita-san? Want to spar with me?"

"Ah, gomen, gomen, Tetsu-kun, but I have some errands to run and… well… bye!"

Tetsu had never seen Okita run so fast in his life. It was almost like he was trying to avoid Tetsu.

"Just my luck." Tetsu muttered, stretching out in his new spot in the dojo, "Nobody remembered my Birthday, and nobody wants to talk to me. What a rotten day."

* * *

Well, that was chapter one. It was fun to write nn!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again nn! It's me. With another pointless chapter! Whoo! And, in any case, this one might bore you a bit - I wanted to get Yamanami, Akesato and Saya out of the way so that I can focus on the more entertaining and funny characters. Hijikata shopping, for example, is halarious oO;

It occured to me while writing this however - I don't know what the heck thecharacters are supposed to get Tetsu for his Birthday. For one, I'm not a 16 year old boy, and for another, what the hell did they give each other back in the 1800's? Help me! If you can think of /anything/ that they can give them, tell me!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Peacemaker, but I want to own Hijikata's cool hairstyle.**

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**Chapter Two  
Convincing**

"Wow! Yamanami-san! I didn't think I'd see you here again today!" Akesato stated, looking with bewilderment at the older man, tilting her head to the side. She'd never known Yamanami to leave, then come back two hours later. That just wasn't like him… perhaps… perhaps he loved her enough to finally take her away! … Wait… that would destroy Yamanami's part in the storyline. In any case, she was still surprised to see him.

"Well, yes, I came to tell you some great news." He stated, stepping inside of Akesato's brothel. "It's Tetsu-kun's Birthday, and we were all hoping that you and Saya could attend as well."

"It's a party?" Akesato asked, clasping her hands in front of her – this was the first party she was invited in that didn't involve some sort of unspeakable things.

"Yep." Sannan replied, "It's been a long time since I went to a party that didn't involve things that I can't speak about in public."

Akesato sweat dropped. The pair of them were alike in more ways than one.

* * *

"So, you will come, won't you, Akesato?" 

As per usual, the pair of them had taken to a vacant room, and Akesato was now contemplating whether or not to come. "But what about my business?"

"I'm sure they can handle themselves for one night." Yamanami stated, crossing his hands over his chest. "It's just for a few hours after all."

"Oh… alright. I'll have to get Say- There you are."

Saya poked her head around the door. She'd been heading back to her own room to get refreshed, and was trying her hardest not to get noticed. Now that she had, she swore in her mind.

"Come in, Saya, come in!"

Saya sighed, and quietly entered the room, sitting in a way that would make a triangle out of the three. As usual, she was mute.

"Guess what day it is today, Saya?" Yamanami asked.

Saya tilted her head.

"It's Tetsunosuke Ichimura's 16th Birthday!"

Saya blinked. In truth, she hadn't even considered that he actually _had _a Birthday. Not in a mean way, but the thought had just never crossed his mind. "So, we're going to take the night off to go to his surprise Birthday party, okay?"

Saya twitched. _Surprise _Birthday party? Didn't that mean that they all had to jump up and yell "SURPRISE!" at the top of their lungs? She could just imagine herself, jumping out from her hiding place… but not joining in. She'd look stupid! So stupid!

Saya nodded.

"Well, we all have to go Birthday shopping then." Yamanami announced, standing. "You pair _are _coming, correct?"

"Oh… okay." Akesato nodded, feeling quite uneasy about leaving her business.

* * *

"Tetsunosuke Ichimura's 16th Birthday… huh?" 

Yoshida grinned slightly. A small grin forming around his mouth, "Perhaps… Suzu…"

The pair had been in the room beside the one that Yamanami and Akesato had chosen, and with the pair talking so loudly to Saya, it had been hard not to over hear it.

"Yes, Master?" Suzu blinked, tilting his head in Yoshida's direction.

"We should attend this birthday party…"

"Ourselves?"

"No, I meant you."

"Oh."

* * *

Yamanami sighed. "I never thought it would be this hard to buy for Tetsunosuke!" 

Akesato was equally irritated. Saya, on the other hand, had brought Tetsu as small piglet doll – she knew that Tetsu would be happy with whatever it was that she brought him. Such were the powers of a woman of his own age.

"The only thing I can think of that Tetsu would want would be a sword." Sannan sighed, scratching the back of his head. "But Toshi would kill me if I gave him one."

"This is a dilemma. Well then. Perhaps… we should get him new writing materials?"

"Writing Materials?" Akesato asked.

"Yes. I hear that Toshi's always forcing lines on him for not doing what he's told. It'd be handy if he had his own gear."

"That's a great idea!" Akesato stated, clapping her hands together in a rather Souji like way. "I'm sure Hijikata will be thrilled that he won't have to waste all his writing materials on Tetsu!"

"I'm not sure that Tetsu's the one who wastes them actually…"

"Well then, it's settled!" Akesato stated, ignoring Yamanami. She'd been around him long enough to know that Souji liked to infuriate all the Shinsengumi members by writing them weird letters.

It didn't take very long for them to find the shop that actually sold the supplies – and they brought the cheapest ones there, surprisingly enough for Yamanami – and made their way to the Shinsengumi headquaters.

"Now, Saya." Akesato said in a serious voice, "You can't tell Tetsu-kun about the party, okay?"

Saya blinked. How the heck was _she _going to tell Tetsu about it anyway?

* * *

"Yamanami-san, Akesato-san, Saya!" Tetsu was still sitting in the dojo, he'd given up cleaning for being rebellious. 

"Ah! Gomen, Gomen, Tetsu-kun, but we can't chat. Yes, we have uh… important… stuff… to do! That's it! Stuff!" Sannan had never been very good at keeping secrets. "So uh, yeah, lets go. See you later, Tetsu-kun!"

"Great." Tetsu muttered, lying on his back again. "Now it's Saya too. It's enough that Yamanami and Akesato don't want to see me… damn this is a bad day."

* * *

Sorry for the shortness of the chapter! I really am! Don't kill me! Twitch 


	3. Chapter 3

Hullo! Me again! I'm sure you were all _looking forward _to this. Shifty eyes In any case, this is the longest chapter so far! Yay! I'm so happy! Don't expect them to get longer, though oO; They're supposed to be one-shot-like-things.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Peacemaker. No. I don't. Really. Stop looking at me like that.

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**Chapter Three  
****Puppy for the Puppy**

Hijikata felt extremely out of place, and people seemed to think so too. He'd been wondering around the market place for approximately two hours, trying to figure out what the heck Tetsunosuke would want for a present. It'd been a long time since he'd been 16, and he really couldn't remember what the heck he'd been given, anyway. However, that wasn't his only problem – he was attracting too much attention. Everybody was looking at him like he was child molesting pervert.

He gripped his hair in annoyance, sighed and muttered. "God damn it… I hope Tetsunosuke doesn't have any Birthday's any time soon after this."

So far the only things he'd found would be things that Souji would like. Like skipping ropes, or hair ties. Why, why was he so damn hard to buy for?

"HIJIKATA-SAN!"

Hijikata froze. It was worse enough that complete strangers were looking at him strangely, but that voice had belonged to Souji – and he was sure that he never did voluntary shopping in front of him.

"Shopping for our puppy?" He asked, bounding into stride with the older man. Hijikata twitched.

"Yes. But I can't figure out what to get him. What's that?"

Souji blinked, looking down at his left hand. In it were three separate (full) brown bags. "Oh! This is the Candy for the party tonight."

"Speaking of which," Hijikata said, scratching the back of his head, "Who's going to cook, seeing as Ayu is…"

"Oh!" Souji stated, cutting him off, "Nagakura, Harada and Todou said that they would do it –" Hijikata sweat dropped "- but back to your present dilemma. Why don't we get a combined present?"

The idea intrigued Hijikata. Souji was probably far more knowledgeable about what Tetsunosuke would like for a present – and that would take off the stress of actually _discovering _what he liked.

"Sure. Like what?"

"A puppy for our puppy!" Souji stated, clapping his hands together.

Hijikata anime fell. A puppy? Sure, puppies were cute, but it would grow into a _dog_, it'd need food, and training. Then again, he could understand why Souji suggested getting a puppy, it really was ironic that Tetsu's nickname was the same.

"A… puppy?"

"Yeah! It'd give Tetsu some responsibility, and something to do after he finishes his duty. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to have a guard dog would it?"

Perhaps Souji was more grown up than Hijikata could give him credit for. He really had thought it through – giving Tetsu some _real _responsibility might make him take more care in his page duties, and having a guard dog at the Shinsengumi wasn't such a bad idea.

"… Alright Souji."

"Yay!" Souji announced, clapping his hands together – yet again. "We'll have to get it a kennel, a leash, a collar and some toys and stuff too!" It seemed that Souji was about as excited about it – he was excited about just about everything.

"First," Hijikata said, "We have to get the _actual _dog."

Souji stopped celebrating. He hadn't thought that far. "Right. Well, we're in Kyoto aren't we? There has to be _someone_ with puppies around."

"… You're right. We should as- Souji?"

Souji was way ahead of him already. He was stopping from stall to stall, talking to all the stall owners one by one. Hijikata sighed, and followed at a distance. It took a while, but Souji bounded back beaming.

"Found some!" He announced.

* * *

Souji had lead Hijikata to a residential area that he had never set foot in before, and it was surprisingly rather clean. It'd taken about half an hour to find the right address, but it wasn't long before they were standing outside a clumsily made pen, looking at a series of mutt pups.

"They're so cute!" Souji announced, grinning as he leant over the side, "I wonder which one Tetsu-kun would like?"

"I think we should see the parents first." Hijikata stated, turning towards the elderly woman who was giving away the puppies in the first place. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all." The woman said, smiling lightly, "But we don't know who the Father was. But I'll get the bitch."

She put her fingers in her mouth and whistled so loudly that Hijikata and Souji both had to put their hands over their ears. However, it wasn't long before a large dog – of course, it was a mutt – bounded through the door, and threw itself onto the elderly – but obviously still healthy – lady.

"Down girl! Down!"

Once she had the dog by it's collar (which was a simple rope), and once the dog was seated, she said, "This is the Mother."

"Sugoi! It's huge!" Souji stated, grinning hyperactively and leaving the edge of the pen to look over the dog. Souji was right. Within a year – if Tetsu didn't have a sudden growth spurt – the puppy would just about tower right over him.

"Not a finer dog in town!" The woman announced proudly.

Although Hijikata could think of several dogs that were finer than the mutt, their time was short, so he and Souji exchanged a quick glance – they'd buy the puppy from his litter.

"Why don't you choose, Souji?" Hijikata said, getting sick of standing, and lowering himself to the ground in front of the elderly lady. It was unfortunate that the dog broke free of it's owner, and tackled Hijikata back so that he was now lying down, trying to avoid the licks from the giant beast. Souji, however, wasn't paying attention.

"Which one… which one…" He sang to himself, looking over the puppies, all of which had fallen asleep. "Man… they're all sleeping."

A single puppies ear twitched, then its eye opened, it rolled up to a sitting position, and yawned. Both eyes turned towards Okita, as he got onto his still reasonably shaky limbs, and padded in the direction of the First Unit Captain. Once it had gone as far as it could, it stopped, plopped itself down on its buttocks, and yawned again.

Souji grinned, and clutched his hands together, and announced, "SO CUTE!"

The puppy was a black colour, although it had a few splotches of white and light brown on occasional places on it's body, and a spot of reddish-brown on the tip of its tail.

"This one, Hijikata-san! This one!"

Toshi pushed the bitches muzzle back, so that it eventually was clear of his body. He then seized the chance, and got up to a sitting position, and then stood up, brushing the excess fur from his robes. "Which one?"

Souji grinned, reached in, and seized the puppy – who surprisingly didn't retaliate – and lifted it up to Hijikata's point if view. "This one!"

"Alright then. Lady, how much is it?"

The elderly lady tilted her head. "It's a give away. Didn't I tell you?"

"No."

"Oh."

* * *

"You know," Toshi said, sighing, "We probably should have gotten all the other stuff _before _we got the dog."

Unfortunately for Hijikata, he'd been forced to carry the puppy, now that Souji had stopped for dinner. Not only that, the puppy had just stopped from trying to lick Toshi's chin, and this reason was because it had randomly fallen asleep.

"But, then, we wouldn't know what colours he'd like. I think there's a pet shop somewhere around here…" Souji said, grinning. "Ah! Here we go."

The pair stopped outside the shop that was marked so clearly, that Hijikata failed to notice that they'd been past the shop twice that day.

Once inside, they headed for the dog section, and Souji mused over everything that was available. This included kennels, leashes, food and a lot of different other things that dogs would use. "Hijikata-san, why don't you choose the collar?"

Toshi blinked. There wasn't much choice – it was black, black or black. He chose black, and handed it to Souji, who grinned. "Black lead too, kay?" He then added that to his hand as well.

"Now we need toys!"

"Just give the mutt a bone or a stick." Toshi said, yawning.

Souji pouted, but he crossed toys off of his mental list. "Kennel! How big should we make it?"

"Medium for now." Toshi said, sighing. The dog would grow into it, and if it grew bigger than the medium – which he thought it would – he'd just get a new one.

"Okie!" Souji paused, holding out his hands to receive the puppy – who was still asleep. Hijikata twitched. He should have expected that he would have to carry the kennel. He sighed, forked over the dog, and picked up the Kennel.

Once it was paid for, Souji was overly happy. "Hijikata-san, would you hide puppy from puppy until tonight?"

Toshi sighed. "I suppose I have to, don't I? But you're cleaning the pee stains off my floor."

* * *

Tetsu blinked. Getting up swiftly. He was sure he saw Hijikata walk by with what appeared to be a kennel, but then again, it could just be part of his imagination. He bounded forward to the door, and just as he was about to turn his head around the corner…

"Tetsunosuke-kun!" Okita grinned, clapping his hands together.

"Oh, Okita-san." Tetsu said, thrilled that somebody was actually talking to him.

"I just came to say," Okita said, thinking quickly, "That Hijikata wants you to clean the other Dojo too."

"Oh." Tetsu said, his stature drooping a bit. Okita had only come to tell him what the vice commander _wanted _him to do. This day wasn't getting _any _better.

* * *

I hope this makes up for the short chapter before! It had better. Yes. It had better.

You don't know _how _tempting it is to name the puppy "Ralph". (Ralph is from my Fruits Basket fic: A Series of Twisted One Shots: Furuba Style (give it a read!)). But I guess it wouldn't fit in with the story, and I don't think that name existed in Japan. I don't even know if pet shops existed in Japan in the Peacemaker time… oh well. I don't care that much.


	4. Chapter 4

Heh, I guess I lied oO; This ones about as long as the other one… but still, I included a fair few characters in it! Horray! I'm pretty sure that this story won't reach past a 10th chapter… oh well. I'm considering writing a sequel afterwards… but I guess it's a bit early to be thinking about that, huh?

**Disclaimer: … Disclaimers are boring. Peacemaker is not owned by me.

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**Chapter Four  
****Ghosts**

"I can't believe they let us cook!" Shinpachi stated, grinning hyperactively as he stirred the soup that he was preparing for that night.

"It's very tempting, isn't it, Shinpachi?" Heisuke asked, scratching the back of his head, "I find it tempting to drug the food."

"Which is why you're cleaning and not cooking." Sanosuke said. He was in the middle of cutting the radishes.

"What are you guys going to get puppy boy anyway?" Shinpachi asked, "I have mine already. Been saving it for a while."

"You mean that orange ball?" Todou asked, tilting his head to the side. "Well, I guess Tetsu still is a kid. I'm getting him a teddy bear."

"A… teddy… bear?" Sanosuke and Shinpachi asked in unison, blinking. They knew that it was probably _not _something that Tetsu would appreciate.

"Yeah!" Todou beamed, "because it's cute. Everybody likes cute things!"

Sano and Shinpachi exchanged a glance. _Yeah, only weirdos like you._

"How about you, Sano? What're you going to get him?"

"Me? I'm givin' him a spear."

"A spear?" The other two said in unison.

"But, Hijikata said that he wasn't allowed a…"

"A sword?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I ain't givin' him a sword, am I?"

All three grinned evilly. "You're right! You devious thing you!"

"I sense an evil shadow looming over this kitchen…"

All three jumped (Shinpachi spilt the soup), and looked in the direction of the doorway, where there stood a very bored Third Unit Captain.

"O-Oh, Hajime… what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here?"

"I told you, I sense an evil shadow looming over the place. But I seem to have been wrong. –" The trio sighed in relief. "- What's the occasion, cooking so early in the day?"

"Well, you see, it's Tetsunosuke's 16th Birthday… and Souji's planning a surprise party for him… and we offered to cook."

"Tetsunosuke's… 16th… Birthday… huh?" Hajime placed his hand to his chin in a rather thoughtful movement. "I guess, I had better go and get him a present then." Hajime turned around, and proceeded to leave the area. The trio sighed in relief, but their relief was short lived. Hajime seemed to have forgotten something. He poked his head around the side of the door and said; "Make sure you don't drug the food."

Of course, all eyes were on Todou, who laughed nervously.

* * *

"Tetsunosuke's… 16th… Birthday… huh?"

Hajime's normally bored face tweaked at the side of his mouth as he thought about it – it'd been a while since people had really _cared _about somebody enough to plan a surprise party. Now all he had to do was to get Tetsu a present – which wasn't going to be easy. He knew _exactly_ what he'd get the puppy… but choosing out of the selection was, well, hard.

"Ah! Saito-san!"

Hajime, being disrupted by his thoughts, turned to look at the elderly couple that were situated at the front of the cemetery – the cemetery being where he'd been headed the entire time. He turned, walking over to the couple. They were the care takers of the cemetery, and like himself, they were able to talk, and even see, spirits.

"Are you here for a visit?"

Hajime nodded. "Yes, I came to attempt to ask a favour from a spirit."

"A favour?" The pair asked in unison, tilting their heads.

"Yes."

Seeing as Hajime wasn't going to give more information for the matter, the pair shrugged it off, and moved off to the side, allowing Hajime entrance. It wasn't long before he was dissolved in his own thoughts again.

* * *

Suzu sighed. His eyes were focused on the gravestone in front of him, the gravestone of some of the Choshu who had since lost their life before coming to Kyoto. He came here often – just looking at those who lost their life made him feel more strongly towards his own objective.

"Master is going to be angry…" he muttered to himself, kneeling in front of a random stone. "I should be finding a present for Ichimura's Birthday…"

"You know Tetsunosuke?"

Suzu jumped almost, almost hitting Saito in the chin. Hajime had ducked out of the way just in time, avoiding the blow, but it hadn't stopped Suzu from falling backwards onto the actual grave of those who he'd been looking at.

"H-Hai." Suzu muttered.

Hajime contemplated for a moment. "Your name?"

"S-Suzu."

"Well, Suzu, I'll be expecting you at the Shinsengumi headquarters ready for Tetsu's party by nightfall."

Inside his mental mind, Suzu was cheering. Now he didn't have to sneak into the Shinsengumi when they were all drunk – he could be there from the start!

"O-Okay." He muttered, nodding, pretending to be bewildered.

* * *

Hajime silently cursed. He'd spent a while talking to Suzu, and he still had to sort through the graves. His eyes scanned the graves, looking for a suitable age, and a suitable name, and everything that would indicate to him that this spirit was reliable. He finally paused, looking at one particular grave stone:

_Abura Kowasu_  
_1798 – 1826  
__Good Samurai in Body and Soul  
__We will remember you always._

The poor man had died reasonably young, and it was known for Grave-stones to lie about being a 'good Samurai'. Still, Hajime could always attempt to get the deed for his soul. He placed his hands over Kowasu's name, and muttered something quietly. After he'd finished, a flash of yellow light – that surprisingly went unnoticed by the others in the cemetery – appeared, and a sitting figure appeared.

"Yeah. What the hell do _you_ want?"

It appeared that Kowasu was blunt, and a little rude. Hajime took no notice of it, and he surveyed the mans appearance. He still looked young, but it was impossible to know what kind of eyes he had, considering there was a blood-tainted bandage covering them, however, his long brown hair was still tied back behind the back of his head, and he still wore his traditional – slightly blood stained – robes, as well as a two swords on his left side.

"Are you a skilled swordsman?" Hajime asked, deciding to ignore his opening statement. "Kowasu, correct?"

"Yeah. That's me. And are you kidding?" By the tone of his voice, Kowasu was surprised that Hajime could even ask such a thing. "How dare you ask me – a genius swordsman – whether I am strong? Cut to the point."

Hajime sighed. This wasn't getting him anywhere. "Right. I've come to ask for the deed to your soul."

Kowasu gasped. The deed to his _soul_?

"What for?" It was obvious that he was hesitant.

"A friend needs somebody who can protect him _properly_."

"No, I mean, what will you give me for it?"

"Sake."

"S-Sake? I haven't drunk that… in… forever! Consider it sold! When do I get it?"

Hajime sweat dropped. That was way too easy – he hoped that Kowasu would be worth the sake, and that Tetsu simply wouldn't get into any trouble. Kowasu dipped his hand into his own Gravestone again, and pulled out the deed, wiped some blood from his robes, and finger printed the paper, before handing it to Hajime.

"So, when do I get the sake?"

"Tonight. After your deed is sold for real."

"You mean you're selling me to your friend?"

"Right."

Kowasu shrugged. "Oh well. Just so long as I have an endless supply."

The pair of them had been in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, before Hajime dug into his robes for a moment, and pulled out a small wooden doll. "This is what you're going to be transported in until tonight. You'll find it nice, and I'm sure it'll have everything you want."

"I see." Kowasu stated, and thought for a moment, before tapping the wooden figure – which was a mistake, seeing as he was sucked into it.

"That was easy." Hajime muttered, depositing it back in the pockets of his robes.

* * *

"Saito-san!" Tetsu called, grinning as he came running towards the Third Unit Captain. Hajime turned to look in Tetsu's direction.

"Tetsunosuke-kun."

"Want to get some Soba with me?"

"Ah…" Hajime twitched. This was going against everything he knew – but he really should go back and help Nagakura, Harada and Todou so that they didn't poison the food. "Actually, I have an errand to run."

"But you just got home…"

"Good bye, Tetsunosuke-kun."

Tetsu watched Hajime's back until he had gone out of site, and scratched the back of his head. _Saito-san rejecting soba? That's not right. Something's up… I can feel it in my waters...

* * *

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Heh, I wish I could include Kowasu more in this story… oh well. If I do a sequel, he'll be in that one from start to finish, along with the as yet unnamed puppy. I still need present ideas!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Whoo! Don't own it.**

I had to re-uploadthis Chapter and the nextbecause I got Tetsu and Tatsu's name mixed up nn;;

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**Chapter Five  
Suspicions.**

Shinpachi grinned. He'd finally steered clear of the kitchen, away from Heisuke and Sanosuke, and he was finally, _finally_ going shopping for Tetsunosuke's _real _present.

"They're so oblivious…" Shinpachi mumbled, grinning deviously as he turned the corner to the market place, resting his hands together. "… Hrm… What could be the perfect present for puppy boy…" Again, another devious look that meant he probably wasn't going to get him a present at all.

"Shinpachi!"

Shinpachi swung around, tilting his head to the side as he noticed a rather tired Tetsunosuke running towards him. Calm and collected, he raised his hand and waved. "What's up, Puppy Boy?"

"I was just wondering," Tetsu said, now leaning on his knees to get his breath back, "Why you've been in the kitchen _all_ day."

Shinpachi thought for a moment. So, Tetsu was catching on… he was a very intelligent person, it appeared. Unfortunately for Tetsu, Shinpachi didn't easily let up secrets.

"Well, I'm not in there now, so I wouldn't call it all day. And I don't think I was in there from Midnight last night either…"

"You know what I mean!" Tetsu retaliated, twitching.

"Unfortunately, Puppy Boy, I haven't the slightest clue."

"WHY YOU LITTLE…!"

* * *

"God… damn… it…" Tatsunosuke muttered, gripping his head in his hands. "Ruined! It's all ruined! Now, Okita's gone and told everybody… who knows what the outcome will be!"

"What outcome? What's Okita gone and told everybody?"

"About Tetsu's Birthday of course… and I just know that something bad's going to happen because of it… wait! YOU'RE…!" Tatsu jumped backwards – even though he was sitting, which meant it was quite a feet for him.

Ryoma stared back with a rather confused look on his face. "What's up, Dragon Boy? Here I come all this way to see _you_, and you're all mopey, then you seem like you're not happy to see me."

"That's because I'm not happy!" Tatsu spluttered, pointing an accusing finger at Ryoma who scratched his dreads, putting his sun-glasses above his forehead.

"That's a shame. And here I thought we were friends."

"Since when! I don't recall us being friends!"

"Hrm… maybe we're more than friends…" On seeing the terrified look on Tatsu's face, Ryoma laughed. "I'm just kidding, Dragon Boy. I came to ask you where your Father's grave is – but I guess that can wait. Iron Boy's birthday, huh?"

"Like I'd disclose that information to you, anyway. And yeah, it is."

"So that's what those badly wrapped things were! I thought they were things to go out to the trash, my mistake, huh? … Dragon Boy?"

"I'm…" Tatsunosuke grabbed the heaviest book he could find, "GOING THE KILL YOU!"

* * *

"So… you were planning a feast?"

"That's right." Shinpachi said, nodding, and waving his finger accusingly. "You shouldn't be so suspicious."

"I know… but… it's hard not too, you know? Everybody… they've…"

"They've what?"

"Well the thing is they've…"

Shinpachi arched his eyebrow.

"They've… completely forgotten that today's my Birthday."

"It is?" Shinpachi said, putting on mock surprise. "Nobody told me that!"

"Nobody? You mean you didn't know?" Tetsu asked, looking up at the slightly taller man.

"Nope. Happy Birthday, Tetsunosuke."

"… Thanks."

"And, that means I have to get you a present, correct?"

"Huh?"

"Of course, seeing as you're here, you can tell me what you want."

"… Right!"

_Score! _Thought Shinpachi, grinning to himself, _here Tetsu is, and he can instruct me on what he wants. TAKE THAT, HEISUKE, SANOSUKE!_


	6. Chapter 6

I think I've almost done everybody there is to get Tetsu a present... So I'll reflect and then figure out how many chapters I have left to write! Yay! ... Not that you care oO; 

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. Don't want it... okay, that was a lie. But I don't own it.**

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Chapter Five  
**The little voices in our head**

"This was nice of ya, Dragon Boy, to take me out with ya to the markets!" Ryoma stated, grinning, not noticing or completely ignoring the sour faced Tatsunosuke who was wondering unwillingly beside him.

"Well you wouldn't _shut up_ so I figured the best way to _get rid of you_ is to take you out, then bid my farewell later."

"Wow! You really don't hesitate in telling people your plans, do ya, Dragon Boy?" Ryoma laughed, cleaning his sun glasses on his shirt. "Now that I think about it, help me find a present for Iron Boy?"

"Huh? You don't mean that you're…"

"Right! I'm goin' to give Iron Boy a cool-o present! But I need to know what stuff he likes."

Tatsunosuke twitched. If he was getting him a present, he'd have to actually _see_ him at one point, wouldn't he? Then he'd fill Tetsu's mind with things like idealism, revolution… god he was having a bad day.

"Dragon Boy?"

"… Huh?" Tatsu had been wrenched clear of his inner most thoughts, and for the moment, he'd completely forgotten that he'd been walking in the first place.

"You know, I was just thinkin'." Ryoma said thoughtfully, flicking his hat, "about how similar you are to your Dad. Iron Boy looks nothing like him. When I first met him, I could have passed him off for any ordinary boy – I was lucky that you came along when you did."

"I don't want to talk about that." Tatsu stated in a matter of fact tone, before turning to look at a random shop.

Ryoma on the other hand, thumped his fist on his hand and stated, "I have the perfect present! See ya, Dragon Boy!"

Tatsu turned briefly, sweat dropped, and was enveloped in bad thoughts. The only reason he'd gone out with Ryoma that day in the first place was to make sure he didn't get anything dangerous – like a gun – for Tetsunosuke.

"Damn it…"

* * *

_Perhaps, _Susumu Yamazaki thought, _I should have accompanied the Vice Commander… he was sprouting some pretty weird things…_

Yamazaki sighed, devouring his own thoughts with one swipe of his hand to his forehead. He hadn't followed the Vice Commander – there was nothing he could do now, and there was no sense sitting brooding, either. It would be more healthy and productive to think of what to get one of his only friends for his Birthday.

"But… what does he like?"

Susumu, who had lost all emotions by Tetsu's age, didn't know what the hell to get him – much like most of the characters in this story – and he was fresh out of, not that he had any, ideas.

"Perhaps I should ask Tatsunosuke…"

It was unfortunate that Susumu had noticed the brown haired man leave just minutes before hand with a strange man with dread locks. Completely lost for ideas, Susumu turned to the only thing he had. He'd just get Tetsu something that he'd like… and hope that it went well.

But… what would he himself like for a Birthday present?

Hitting himself with both hands on the side of his face, Yamazaki went into thinking mode. About the only thing he would appreciate would be a new weapon… but if he got Tetsu one of those, the Vice Commander would _kill_ him in cold blood. Then again… what else was he going to get him?

Faced with a dilemma, Susumu decided to lighten the mood and to get some fresh air flowing through the room, so he opened the windows. Eyes turning out towards the one tree that occupied the space directly outside his room.

"… I didn't think that buying a present would be so hard."

­_Who says you have to _buy_ one?_

"Are you crazy or just stupid? A presents no good unless it's brought."

_You can always make one._

"…" Yamazaki stopped talking. He was doing it again – again! For some reason lately he'd been having in depth conversations with the little voice in his head, but for once the voice in his head – who he'd named Peter – was actually making a good point. Why did he have to buy one and waste his money on something that would be played with for five minutes then cast aside?

_Make him a wig._

"With what?"

_I don't know stupid, who do you think I am? Your brain?_

"Well… actually I did."

Just shut up and go find some poor defenseless animal to slaughter and make Tetsunosuke a damn wig! (A/N: o.o! Peter's so mean!) 

Yamazaki shrugged, and obeyed Peter, grabbing his knife, and proceeding out of the Shinsengumi headquarters.

* * *

"What would Tetsu like, anyway?" Suzu muttered to himself, picking up a random toy and looking at it. "He's really hard to shop for."

Sighing, Suzu put down the toy, and looked around. "Maybe a dream catcher…"

The really sad thing about Suzu was that he was Tetsu's age, and he still didn't know what to get him. It appeared that Tetsunosuke was just one of those people – and it was a miracle that Tatsunosuke was able to buy him so much.

Sighing, Suzu entered the first store he came too. Maybe he would just get Tetsu a new training outfit… yeah, that'd work. A new training outfit.

In fact, it didn't take Suzu to get one at all – meaning he grabbed the first one he saw – and he proceeded back to the Inn, to show Master Yoshida what he'd found.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Never will.**

This is the last chapter of the One Shot series, and that makes it my first completed story! YAY! Sorry it's so short though oO;. Anyways, I'm thinking of doing a sequal to build Kowasu and Peter's personalities up more… then again, I may just start a different one. I threw some Sword Fighting in here for no reason. Whoo! Anyways, enjoy!

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**Chapter Seven**  
**Tetsu's Surprise Party**

"Tetsunosuke-kun!"

Tetsu turned. He'd returned from shopping with Shinpachi for a while ago, and he was wondering exactly why the Vice Commander hadn't wanted to smash his head in for neglecting his page duties. No, the Vice Commander had said something about; "Damn mutt, pissing all over the floor!" The funny thing was, Tetsu didn't remember peeing on his floor at all – mutt was his name with Hijikata got _really_ angry.

But, night was falling, and Okita had appeared from out of no where. "Okita-san!"

"Konban wa, Tetsu-kun!"

"Konban wa…"

"Hey, come with me, okay? Okay?"

Tetsu really didn't have a choice, seeing as Okita grabbed his wrist with his only free hand – Saizo occupied his other – and dragged him to the dojo that he'd cleaned earlier that day.

Okita paused momentarily, his gaze turning around the area. _Good,_ he thought, _Everybody's in place._

"Come on inside, Tetsu-kun!"

Again, Tetsu was dragged. They stopped at the door way. Tetsu looked at Okita for a moment. It was dark, with no candles lit, but he could just make the outlines of a fair amount of people. In fact, the moment Okita lit the first candle, everybody jumped up and shouted: "SURPRISE PUPPY BOY!" Causing Tetsu to fall backwards, and look up with surprise. The only people not to yell surprise were Saya, who as planned had simply jumped up with her hands outstretched, Susumu, who had been arguing with Peter and hadn't jumped up at all, and Tatsunosuke, who was sulking in a corner.

"W-What is this?" Tetsu asked, looking around at everybody who wore trademark happy faces, ignoring Susumu's shouting:

("FOR GOD SAKES PETER, I DIDN'T MEAN TO STEP IN THE DOG SHIT!"

_But you still did, didn't you?_

"JUST LAY OFF! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

_That's it. No intelligent thoughts for a week._

"Ah… PRETTY BUTTERFLY!" The Butterfly was in fact a trick of the light, that Susumu decided was pretty, and there for, was a Butterfly. Peter had made good on his word.)

"It's for your Birthday, Tetsu-kun." Okita said, grinning. "Did you think we'd forget?"

"Well… actually… yeah."

"You should be happy, even Hijikata-san got you a present!"

"He did?"

"Yep!"

"Well uh… Thank you everybody!" Tetsu said, feeling extremely embarrassed.

It didn't take very long for the festivities to get under way. It appeared that Okita had set up a table on the back wall of the Dojo and had stacked it with the lollies from earlier, as well as the comic trio's meals. In fact, the meals were actually pretty decent, which meant of course that Hajime had helped them after all.

Games didn't exist at the party. People just mingled and did what they liked until present time, until:

"Souji, this is a special occasion, is it not?" Hajime asked, tapping Souji on the shoulder.

"Yep!" Souji said, grinning.

"How about a contest then?"

"A contest?"

"Yes, against all the unit captains and the commanders. I'm sure everybody would like to watch."

"Yay!" Souji stated, grinning, and skipping away to ask Hijikata. Hajime watched as Hijikata's stature slumped a bit, but he agreed none the less. It was then that Hajime went to find Tetsu.

"Tetsunosuke-kun."

Tetsu, who had been in the middle of conversing with Saya, jumped and scrambled to hold onto the closest thing – which happened to be Saya – before looking at the 3rd Unit Captain. "W-W-You scared me, Saito-san!"

"Indeed. But I believe it should be the woman who falls into their lovers arms." Both Tetsu and Saya blushed. "In any case, come and learn something. We have decided to put all the commanders against one another to see who comes out on top."

"Cool!" Tetsu announced, "Come on, Saya!"

* * *

"The first match," Ryoma announced, he'd surprisingly been let off the hook this time, considering it was puppy boys Birthday. And the moment he'd mentioned that he'd known Tetsu's Father, reluctantly letting him in, but in the end, they'd stripped him of his gun and swords. "Is between Nagakura Shinpachi and Harada Sanosuke!"

"Get ready to lose, Shinpachi!" Sanosuke announced, grinning from ear to ear. Shinpachi gulped. He'd never _once_ beaten Sanosuke in competition when he was wielding a spear. Still, he was going to try.

Shinpachi moved off, dashing in a zigzag like pattern toward the taller man. Sanosuke retaliated a bit to late, and Shinpachi managed to get behind Harada, hitting him in the back with his wooden sword. No good. All Sanosuke did was take the blow, and although Shinpachi was sure it was painful, Sano didn't get all those scars for nothing. Unfortunately, this put Shinpachi in Sanosuke's range of attack.

"Shit." He muttered, narrowly missing being hit over by the end of the padded spear, and he only narrowly made it past attack range.

"Givin' up already, Shinpachi?"

"Not on your life!" Shinpachi spat, glaring at Sano. _How the hell am I supposed to beat him?_ He asked himself. Normal moves wouldn't work against Sano, he knew that, in fact, even forming a stance was probably pointless. "Damn…"

"My turn!" Sanosuke stated, dashing towards Shinpachi, who only had a split second to dodge. He did so by leaning backwards, just far enough, but lost some of the ends of his fringe in the process. Sanosuke didn't stop there. His attacks were so fast, that in the end, a direct blow to the gut caused Shinpachi to double over. Sanosuke advanced onto the next round.

In the end, Sanosuke cut down Todou, but it didn't take Sanosuke long to be cut down by a blow from behind by Souji.

Now it was Souji VS Hajime, and everybody knew it could go either way. Both stood, not moving. There was obvious tension in the air, and a few Shinsengumi members forgot to breathe. In the end, Souji decided to start off. He launched himself full speed at Hajime, connecting swords with an almighty CLANG. Hajime fended him off, and both men jumped back a considerable distance, sizing each other up.

"I sense something dark around you, Souji."

"Your mind games won't work with me, Hajime."

_Damn._ Hajime thought. He'd have to use a different mind to defeat him, and calling on Kowasu would be considered cheating. No, he'd fight fair and square.

This time, Hajime moved in a zigzag pattern towards Souji. Souji readied for the blow, but it didn't come, instead, using a sweeping motion, Hajime's foot tripped Okita – who landed on his face, his wooden sword landed three feet away. The entire hall erupted with laughter, including Okita.

"How original!" Okita said, standing. "Wow, that was amazing, Hajime!"

Hajime cut down Yamanami without any problems, considering he didn't put up much of a fight at all. He basically forfeited to Hajime – who was sorely disappointed.

"No fair."

Hajime blinked. He was getting ready to face Hijikata. The voice came from inside the small wooden doll.

"I want to try too."

"You want to try?" Hajime asked, blinking.

"Yeah. I want to try."

"Well you can't."

"God you're a prick."

Hajime and Hijikata faced off. Hajime was determined to win – the medium always vanquished the demon after all. It was Hijikata who made the first move, making an upwards striking motion at Hajime, which he narrowly avoided, but the air made a small cut in his robe. They connected swords, sizing one another up, before jumping back to considerable lengths.

"You are indeed a demon, Vice Commander."

"I'll take that as a complement."

Hajime moved this time, attempting the same manoeuvre that he used on Souji, but the Vice Commander saw right through it, jumping out of the way and bringing his sword down to connect with Hajime's shoulder. Hajime yelped, bouncing backwards.

"No fair, Hijikata-san!" Souji called from the sidelines, "You're not supposed to hurt people!"

Not surprisingly, Hijikata was disqualified.

Now it was only Hajime and Kondo. With his handicap, Hajime was pretty easy to beat, and Kondo walked away victorious. Not surprisingly though, Ryoma was etchy to allow Kondo near him, especially when he was sure that he'd arrest him.

"Your winner," He stated, eyeing Kondo, "Kondo Isami!"

* * *

"Was that fun to watch, Tetsu-kun, Saya?" Okita asked, sitting down next to Tetsu and Saya. They both nodded – Saya slower than Tetsu. Truthfully, she'd been terrified and covered her eyes through most of the fighting, but she didn't want to appear afraid in front of Tetsu.

"Present time?"

"You got me Presents?"

"Of course! MINASAN! Present time!"

The group gathered without a second thought, the people who'd been told by Souji about his Birthday equally excited to see what everybody else got him, the few that'd been told by other members only cared about getting their moneys worth, and the other presentless members just sat around and watched.

Of course, Tatsunosuke went first, emerging from his sulking corner putting the pile of presents – which was just about as high as Tetsu was when he was sitting down – in front of his younger Brother. Most of it was clothes, but he got a few new tools for page duties, as well as a book to help with his reading. He then received his Spear, Teddy Bear, and Dream Catcher from Sanosuke, Heisuke and Shinpachi. (Hijikata looked just about ready to rip the 10th Unit Captain's head off.) Then it was Suzu's turn, who had been hiding out in the corner opposite to Tatsu, and he also handed over the clothes he'd brought to Tetsu. Saya handed Tetsu her doll afterwards, along with Akesato and Yamanami. Susumu, reluctantly came over – even though Peter was still refusing to work, and clumsily handed over the wig – which looked just like Tetsu's hair in the first place. Finally, Hajime handed Tetsu a sheet of paper.

"What's this?" Tetsu asked, looking at it, and then at the finger print that appeared to be written in stale blood.

"A soul deed. Give me your hand."

"Huh?" Tetsu asked, but he didn't have a choice. Hajime grabbed his hand, used his nail to dig just under the surface of the skin but enough to draw blood, and planted his finger on the paper.

"OW!" Tetsu stated, pulling his finger away from Hajime's hand and sticking it in his mouth. "Vhat vurt!"

Hajime then handed Tetsu the Wooden Doll. "Happy Birthday."

"Huh?" He blinked. Looking at it, but threw it over the other side of the room when it spoke.

"WHEN THE HELL DO I GET MY SAKE! HAJIME!"

Kowasu emerged from the doll, and half the Shinsengumi screamed. Hajime simply grinned. "It's over on the table, but first, meet your new master. Ichimura Tetsunosuke."

"Yeah, yeah, that's nice… SAKE HERE I COME!"

Everybody sweat-dropped.

"Oi! Dragon Boy!" Ryoma stated, bounding in his direction and holding out a box. "Happy Birthday!"

The box – to Tatsu's dismay – contained a gun. When Tatsu saw it, he dragged Ryoma out of the room by his dreads, and kicked the shit out of him.

Last but not least, it was Souji and Hijikata's turn. Souji carried the puppy quite happily, while Hijikata had been made to hold Saizo.

"Happy Birthday, Tetsu-kun!"

"It's a… It's a PUPPY!"

Tetsu was obviously overjoyed at the dog he'd received, which he called Menchi – Shinpachi's suggestion – grinning.

"He's your responsibility, Ichimura." Hijikata said seriously. Standing over his page. "You have to train this mutt to guard the Shinsengumi headquarters at night time, and you have to train it to be obedient. But, first of all, TOILET TRAIN IT! IT PISSED ALL OVER MY FLOOR!"

The entire room fell silent.

The party contined without much fuss. Ryoma, Kowasu and Sanosuke all got drunk without a second thought, Ryoma sporting more than one bandage. Susumu continued to chase the Butterfly. Hijikata was terrorised by Souji. Shinpachi and Heisuke interrogated Hajime about their dead relatives. And Saya, Tetsu and Suzu all played cards – Suzu completely forgetting about his mission objective.

* * *

Tetsu looked out of the small crack he'd left open of his cupboard door. The end of his Birthday was pretty good after all. Menchi had chosen to lie on Tatsu's stomach, while Kowasu had insisted on sharing the cupboard with Tetsu. It had been a good Birthday after all. Considering it was well after midnight, Tetsu curled up into a ball and fell asleep.

_Yes, _he thought before drifting off, _It has been a good Birthday after all…

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**W**ell, that's it! Invitations is now a finished story, HORRAY! Sorry it was so short, but you know, one shot series that follow a story-line shouldn't really go on for that long, you know? It's different when their random stories. Anyways, thank you for reading, and please review!


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